How do interviews differ between Liverpool and Surrey (GEM)?

Liverpool uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Surrey (GEM) uses Multiple Mini Interviews: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). The format is the same, so the same prep approach applies — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot topics, and (for MMI) structured 5-7 minute station answers. Interview windows: December - February (Liverpool); December - March (Surrey (GEM)).

How are GCSEs weighted at Liverpool vs Surrey (GEM)?

Liverpool — Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants. Surrey (GEM) — GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above.

Where are Liverpool and Surrey (GEM) located, and how does that affect cost?

Liverpool is in Liverpool, UK. Surrey (GEM) is in Guildford, UK. Tuition is £9,250/year at both for UK home applicants; the main cost difference is accommodation (London accommodation typically runs 30-50% above the national average).

When does each school release decisions?

Liverpool typically releases medicine decisions March onwards. Surrey (GEM) releases medicine decisions March onwards. If one is earlier than the other, you may need to hold a decision while waiting for the second school — be ready to compare in real time.

Medical school comparison

Liverpool vs Surrey (GEM)

Liverpool and Surrey (GEM) are both UK medical schools, but the path to an offer at each is meaningfully different. Both sit in England, so location and clinical-placement breadth are similar — the differentiation comes from selection methodology, interview style and curriculum philosophy.

Liverpool is the older institution (founded 1881); the other (founded 2024) has shaped its medical school around modern integrated-curriculum thinking.

Side-by-side comparison

Show only differences

Side-by-side comparison: Liverpool and Surrey (GEM).
Comparison field	LiverpoolLiverpool	Surrey (GEM)Guildford
Quick comparison
Location	Liverpool, UK	Guildford, UK
A-Level offer	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore	Liverpool TrueScore 1900	Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off	No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.	-
Interview format	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)	Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance	Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.	-
Decision date	March onwards	March onwards

A-Level offer	AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. AAB also accepted with AA including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.	Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
Contextual A-Level offer	-	-
Required A-Level subjects	Chemistry required, plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. (AAB pattern: A in Chemistry plus A in one of Bio/Phys/Maths; B in third subject.)	-
A-Level resit policy	Resits "may be considered" - must have achieved ABB on first sitting. Offer becomes A*AA on resit.	Not applicable to graduate entry.
GCSE requirements	Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science)	GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above
GCSE scoring methodology	Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20 with achieved A-levels). Limited number of BTECs counted. Higher GCSE scores break ties on borderline applicants.	-
Scottish Highers	-	-
Scottish Advanced Highers	-	-
International Baccalaureate	36 points overall, 6,6,6 at Higher Level including Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics	-
Graduate-entry degree requirement	2:1 (Upper-second-class Honours) or above. GAMSAT used for graduate applicants - overall score 55–56 with no section below 50 considered competitive.	Minimum 2:1 UK honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject - all disciplines are given equal consideration.
Alternative qualifications	-	Graduate-entry only (4-year BMBS). GAMSAT is the general admission test; UCAT is accepted only from Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences graduates. Open to UK and international applicants (IELTS 7.0 overall and in every component). The University of Exeter is the contingency awarding body while Surrey completes GMC accreditation.

Contextual cut-off	-	-
Scottish (where applicable)	-	-
Rest of UK (where applicable)	-	-
International cut-off	Home and overseas applications are assessed in completely separate pools, so the two can end up with different thresholds for invitation to interview.	-
Graduate cut-off	Graduate applicants to A100 sit the GAMSAT, not the UCAT - a genuine difference from most UK schools.	GAMSAT is the general route. UCAT is accepted ONLY from applicants holding a degree in Biochemistry, Biology, Biomedical Science, Chemistry or Natural Sciences.
SJT band	Bands 1-3 accepted, band 4 rejected (home applicants). Any band accepted (international applicants).	-
UCAT notes	The UCAT is compulsory for all non-graduate applicants, including those on Access to Medicine routes, and must be sat in the same year as the application. Liverpool considers UCAT annotations as part…	No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option.

Degree awarded	MBChB	BMBS
Course length	5 years	4 years (graduate entry)
Teaching style	Spiral + Case-based learning	Team-based learning
Anatomy teaching	-	Prosection
First patient contact	Year 2	Year 1
Placement geography	The north west of England	Surrey and the surrounding area
Named placement sites	-	Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Surrey Heartlands ICS, Frimley Health and Care ICS
Intercalation	An additional undergraduate or master's degree by adding a year of intercalated study.	-
Course highlight	-	AI is integrated into the curriculum, and virtual reality surgical training runs through the VRiMS collaboration.

Interview window	December - February	December - March
Interview details	MMI with stations testing communication, ethical reasoning, motivation and global-health awareness. Two separate cut-offs (GCSE and UCAT) must both be met before invitations go out.	MMI format with multiple stations assessing communication, ethical reasoning and problem-solving.

Specialities	Medicine, Dentistry, Tropical Medicine	Medicine, Healthcare Technology, Clinical Practice
Established	1881	2024
Course type	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
What makes it different	Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases.…	New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation c…
Official course page	https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/medicine-and-surgery-mbchb	https://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/medicine-graduate-entry

Liverpool

Quick comparison

Location: Liverpool, UK
A-Level offer: AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.
TrueScore: Liverpool TrueScore 1900
UCAT home cut-off: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: Home applicants (2024): 612/1870 = 33%; International: 22/138 = 16%. Low post-interview chances for both.
Decision date: March onwards

Surrey (GEM)

Guildford

Quick comparison

Location: Guildford, UK
A-Level offer: Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject
TrueScore: Surrey (GEM) TrueScore 1700GEM
UCAT home cut-off: -
Interview format: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
Post-interview chance: -
Decision date: March onwards

Liverpool vs Surrey (GEM) - in detail

A-Level and academic profile

Liverpool requires AAA at A-level with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. A*AB also accepted with A*A including Chemistry plus one of Biology / Physics / Mathematics. No use of predicted grades.

Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject.

GCSE profile matters at both schools — Liverpool: Minimum grade 6/B in GCSE English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (or Dual Award Science). Top 9 GCSEs scored /20: 2 pts per grade 7+, 1 pt per grade 6. Minimum 15/20 (12/20… Surrey (GEM): GCSE Maths and English at grade C/5 or above.

Interview formats

Both Liverpool and Surrey (GEM) use MMI interviews, so the underlying prep approach is the same — practise ethics frameworks, NHS hot-topic answers and (for MMI) structured station responses against a timer.

Interview windows: Liverpool interviews in December - February; Surrey (GEM) in December - March.

Curriculum and teaching style

Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum; Surrey (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies are different — Liverpool delivers more didactic lectures with structured systems-based progression, while Surrey (GEM) centres learning around clinical cases.

Specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

Intake size: Liverpool — ~280 home + ~30 international places per year (A100 Standard Entry Medicine).; Surrey (GEM) — ~30-50 places per year (small newer cohort).. A larger cohort means more peer breadth; a smaller cohort means more tutor contact.

What makes each distinctive

Liverpool: Historic medical school known for tropical medicine and global health. GCSE-heavy scoring (top 9 GCSEs counted). Personal statement not normally used in shortlisting but reserved for borderline cases. Low post-interview success rate compared with peers.

Surrey (GEM): New graduate-entry school taking a technology-forward approach to teaching. Still under GMC review, so the University of Exeter acts as the contingency awarding body until Surrey's own accreditation completes - worth confirming before you accept an offer.

Which is right for you?

Both schools sit in the same England foundation-programme catchment, so post-graduation training paths overlap heavily. If you learn best in small-group case discussion, prefer Surrey (GEM); if you prefer lecture-led foundations, the other suits better.

Your firm/insurance choice should ultimately weight: where your UCAT and predicted grades sit relative to each school's threshold, which interview format you can prepare for most credibly, and where you'd actually want to live for five or six years.

Common questions

Neither school publishes a single fixed UCAT cut-off; both use UCAT as part of a composite shortlisting score alongside GCSE and personal-statement weighting. Liverpool guidance: No threshold published in advance. Liverpool ranks applicants on overall UCAT score and says the bar moves each cycle with the strength of the field.. Surrey (GEM) guidance: No numeric cut-off is published; scores sort applicants into interview, waitlist or rejection. Do not assume a UCAT route - for most degree subjects GAMSAT is the only option..

Liverpool requires AAA with Chemistry plus Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Surrey (GEM) requires Graduate entry - 2:1 or above in any subject. Most successful applicants achieve these grades on first sitting with strong predicted grades from their school. Resit policies differ: Liverpool — No A-Level prediction requirement; resit applicants accepted. Achieved-grade applicants need only 12 GCSE points (vs 15 for predicted-grade . Surrey (GEM) — Not applicable to graduate entry..

Liverpool's selection methodology: Applicants must clear the academic criteria, then are ranked on overall UCAT score, with the top scorers progressing. Home and overseas applications are considered in separate pools because the competition within each differs, so the two can end up with different interview thresholds. Liverpool publishes no cut-off in advance. Around 3,350 people applied to A100 for 2026 entry. Surrey (GEM)'s selection methodology: Degree class hurdle (2:1, any subject), then GAMSAT - or UCAT for bioscience/chemistry graduates only - sorting applicants into interview, waitlist or reject, then a virtual MMI lasting under an hour. Understanding each school's exact algorithm is the single highest-leverage piece of pre-application research — it tells you whether your profile is competitive before you spend an application choice.

Liverpool runs a Integrated curriculum. Surrey (GEM) runs a PBL curriculum. The teaching philosophies differ — pick the style that matches how you learn best. Liverpool specifics: Five-year MBChB with integrated theory and clinical practice. Strong NHS placement breadth across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Cheshire & Merseyside. Surrey (GEM) specifics: Four-year accelerated graduate-entry MBChB. Surrey-based with South-East NHS placements.

You can — UCAS allows 4 medicine/dentistry choices in total, so listing both is feasible if your profile fits each school's selection algorithm. Apply to both only if your UCAT, GCSE and predicted-grade profile is competitive against each school's published weighting. A common mistake is using two of your four slots on similar schools when a more spread-out portfolio (one safe + one stretch) would maximise overall offer probability.

Where to go next

LiverpoolEntry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Surrey (GEM)Entry requirements, interview format and key dates in full

Other medical school comparisons

School data reviewed by the NextGen MedPrep editorial team — last reviewed 19 September 2026.